


Cold Water

by VonRaptor



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Fluff, Humor, Love Confessions, Multi, OT3, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29438733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VonRaptor/pseuds/VonRaptor
Summary: A small-scale domestic disaster in the middle of freezing weather land the gang in some incredibly not-hot water...
Relationships: Arthur/Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Cold Water

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this was PLANNED to be out a few months ago, but I kept getting distracted or bogged down in things so it was delayed. So delayed in fact that it lands RIGHT ON VALENTINES DAY. Which is kinda appropriate, when you think about it.
> 
> This was mostly just some dumb, soft fun ideas I had that I wanted to write out. And now I get to inflict it on all of you!

The problem started about two-and-a-half days ago, with a worrying clunk and the sort of silence you get when a sound you've been taking for granted the past month suddenly drops out. Lewis, being in the kitchen at the time, was the first to guess something was wrong, shortly followed by Arthur as he joined the spectre in the kitchen a moment later.

"Something on your mind, Lew?" Arthur asked as he slid his headphones off his ears, before tilting his head to one side and realising what had happened as he saw the ghost staring fixedly towards the cupboard in the corner. Slowly, Arthur turned to look at the broom cupboard as well, and then upward towards the ceiling where the faint sounds of running water could be heard still.

"SHE'S NOT GONNA BE HAPPY..." Lewis muttered.

"She's gonna be fuming..." Arthur agreed.

Vivi was the last to find out, singing loudly in the shower she had no idea of what was unfolding downstairs. At least, not until the hot water ran out…

“How… how long do you think we have?” Arthur asked, eyes fixed on the ceiling as if the force of his hopefulness alone would keep Vivi from noticing the sudden drop in temperature.

“MINUTES, AT MOST” Lewis answered, “I’M GONNA GET SOME TOWELS HEATED, YOU JUST SEE IF YOU CAN FIX IT QUICKLY” before he hurriedly drifted off down the hall, leaving Arthur in the kitchen to scramble for his tools.

“Well I can try,” Arthur mumbled, “but I’m a car mechanic, not a plumber…” through nonetheless he went to the broom cupboard to see if he could find out what the problem was. Grabbing the flashlight from his toolkit Arthur started to look over the boiler, making a few cursory checks to see if this was something he could actually fix. It wasn’t looking good, the pilot light was out which only served to show how dated the old thing was. Arthur was honestly surprised it had continued to work for as long as it had, he didn’t know if he should be impressed or horrified at the state of it.

Lewis meanwhile was standing outside the bathroom with a towel sandwiched firmly between the palms of his hands and was focusing on it intently. He was bracing for the inevitable outrage from Vivi that should be happening in a matter of moments. And sure enough from the other side of the door he could hear it.

“Baby there’s a dancefloor up in heaven touch the sky, we can dance there all night”, Vivi’s singing was still upbeat for the moment, “Baby there’s a dancefloor up in heaaa-AAAAAAH!” And there it was. A few short thuds and clatters that were all punctuated with cursing later and a still damp, hurriedly dressed Vivi flung open the bathroom door with a face like thunder. “All right, whose bright idea was that?!” she demanded before Lewis proffered the towel he had been warming ready for this.

“BOILER’S SHOT, VI” Lewis said plaintively, “ARTIE’S LOOKING INTO IT BUT FOR NOW WE GOT NO HOT WATER.”

Vivi snatched up the towel and, drying her hair and face in the toasty warmth, immediately began to relax if only slightly. “Ugh, great. Just had to happen this time of year,” she moaned, “Have you heard anything from Artie yet?”

“NOTHING, THIS ALL JUST HAPPENED NOW AND I’VE BEEN GETTING THE TOWEL READY” answered Lewis, “AND JUDGING BY THE LACK OF CHEERING HE’S NOT GETTING ANYWHERE.” Instead what they heard from downstairs was some indistinct muttering with a few clangs and shouts. Arthur was definitely wasn’t getting anywhere.

“I’ll just be a few minutes, you think you could warm up a few blankets in the meantime?” Vivi sighed.

“YEAH, I PLAN ON IT. I’LL ALSO ASK MAMÁ IF WE CAN GET SOME HELP WITH LAUNDRY, I’M SURE THEY CAN PITCH IN.” Lewis drifted down the stairs again, “I’LL BE IN THE KITCHEN TRYING TO KEEP IT WARM WHILST ARTHUR DOES WHAT HE CAN.”

Back down in the kitchen Arthur had already drafted in Mystery to assist him, having them half perch on his shoulder and half stand on the kitchen worktop with a flashlight in their mouth. “Don’t you have a flashlight in your arm for this sort of thing?” Mystery asked, slightly muffled by the flashlight.

“You mean in the arm that’s currently up close to the boiler? Unfortunately that’s not going to going to give me much light to see with right now” Arthur muttered in response, still tinkering with the boiler, “so before you ask why I put the flashlight into my arm in the first place the answer is ‘because I could’ and ‘to find things in the dark’!”

Mystery considered this for a moment before agreeing this was a reasonable enough. “Point taken”, he conceded.

Lewis drifted in carrying a large assortment of towels and blankets under each arm. “YO, ANY GOOD NEWS GUYS? I’VE BROUGHT VIVI UP TO SPEED AND GONNA GET SOME BLANKETS WARMED UP JUST IN CASE”

Arthur sighed as he set down his tools, Mystery hopping down onto the counter. “Well I got some good news, and some bad news… The good news is this old thing isn’t leaking, the bad news is it’s basically all junk now. Totally useless, frankly I’m surprised this the first time it’s gone wrong!” Arthur leaned up against the wall and rubbed his arms even if one of them didn’t feel the dropping temperature. Outside the wind began to pick up, Arthur made a small intake of breath as he watched a few flakes of snow started to drift down. Lewis traced his friend’s gaze to the window and then back to Arthur.

“HEY, YOU FEELING OKAY?” Lewis asked, his spectral voice ringing with concern.

“Oh, um, yeah I’m fine” Arthur answered, snapping back to reality, “yeah I’m just thinking that if I can’t get this boiler fixed soon we’re gonna have trouble. Weather’s only gonna get worse…” Arthur subconsciously reached up to his left shoulder. “And winter can be a bit tough when it gets really cold…” he muttered, almost entirely to himself as he turned back around to work on the boiler.

He was so absorbed in his work he didn’t notice Lewis behind him until he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Arthur didn’t jump as much as he used to, having grown used to living with Lewis & Vivi, but he was stilled startled if mostly because he was focused. Turning around Arthur found Lewis offering a neatly folded orange jumper in his hands. “HERE, YOU SHOULDN’T BE WORKING COLD, ARTIE” Lewis said, pressing the jumper into Arthur’s hands. It was toasty warm and Arthur sagged with relief as he put it on, the heated embrace of fabric was immediately noticeable.

“Oh… oh that’s so good…” Arthur gasped, “Lew, you’re a lifesaver…” before all of a sudden a sharp wolf-whistle pierced the air that made Arthur snap to attention and blush.

“If it’s that good then can you stop hogging my boyfriend?” Vivi jeered from the doorway, bundled in scarves.

“AH, VIVI” Lewis immediately whipped round and dashed over, grabbing one of the blankets that he had placed on the table and pressing it between his hands, “ARTHUR’S DOING WHAT HE CAN BUT IT LOOKS LIKE WE MIGHT NEED TO GET THE BOILER REPLACED”

“Yeah, I heard,” muttered Vivi, “it’s an absolute nightmare but we’ll find a way to make it work.”

Arthur just stammered and pointed back to his tools. “I’ll, erm, I’ll just, ah, I’ll get back to wor- seeing if I can fix this. You two, er, don’t need to wait in here…” he trailed off into a nervous cough.

“Hey, Artie, it’s not a problem” Vivi said, “We should stick to the same room, especially with Lew here to keep us warm.”

“Not to mention then someone else can hold the flashlight for a while,” Mystery remarked, having watched the awkwardness unfold from the countertop next to Arthur’s tool bag, but still dutifully picked up the flashlight again to assist Arthur who was busily working away in an attempt to get the burner back working.

Lewis draped a now-warmed blanket over Vivi who placed a small thank-you kiss on his cheekbone before she sat down by the table and pulled out her phone. After a minute of scrolling she looked up towards her friends, frowning. “The snow’s probably not going to settle tonight but we’re definitely in for a cold snap, guys” Vivi grumbled, “how’s it looking, Artie?”

Arthur let Mystery back down and turned around still looking flushed, “I, uh, I don’t think I can fix it tonight. Maybe tomorrow if I can get some spare parts though? I’ll have to see what we have back at the shop though…”

“I know you are virtuoso of the technical arts, Arthur, but are you quite sure that you would be able to repair this?” Mystery inquired.

“Well I have to try” Arthur replied with a shrug, “I mean, I’ve built more complicated stuff before so how hard can it be?”

But that was two days ago, and in spite of best efforts Arthur was not able to repair the boiler, not that he had given up. Again he was up to his elbows in the broom cupboard, hard at work. Given his constant attempts to fix the boiler he had to dig out his headband flashlight from work as he couldn’t guarantee having someone around to assist him. He was so engrossed in his work that again he didn’t notice the tap on his shoulder, this time from a smaller, colder hand that still made him jump a little.

“Gah! Vivi! Your hands are freezing!” Arthur gasped, “also you walk too quietly, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Really? You didn’t hear me get home and very loudly complain about work?” Vivi put her hands on her hips and gave Arthur a concerned look, “I think you’re getting a bit overly concerned with the boiler problem, Arthur.” She grabbed Arthur’s arms and gently pulled him towards the kitchen table, “It’s not something worth getting bogged down with, and if it’s not working then we’ll just get one that does.”

Arthur just shrugged, but remained standing. “I know, I probably should just let it rest but I should still try. What if you fall ill? You work in a pretty cramped place with a lot of people! That’s, like, a breeding ground for cold and flu!”

Vivi grabbed a pair of mugs and started to make some coffee, black for Arthur and milk with several sugars for herself. “Just… don’t get hung up over something that isn’t working” Vivi said, “Just come sit a moment with me and Lew, we’re in the living room. It’s warmer, and you could do with the break.”

It was certainly more comfortable in the living room, mostly because Lewis was stood in the middle room as an impromptu space heater. He had a pair of blankets draped over each arm and hot water bottle in each hand, palpable waves of heat emanating out from him. Mystery was sprawled out on a fuzzy blanket that was folded and sat on sofa, clearly enjoying the last thing Lewis had already warmed. As Vivi led Arthur into the room to sit him on the sofa, both Lewis and Mystery nodded in greeting.

“STILL NO LUCK I TAKE IT, ARTIE?” Lewis asked

“I recognise that expression all too well, Arthur,” Mystery yawned from his comfortable perch, “the boiler failing doesn’t count as a defeat, you know. Some things aren’t worth holding on to.”

“Yeah it looks like we’re gonna have to order a replacement,” Arthur shrugged, but his heart wasn’t really in it. “I think I can get some basic functionality out of it at least so at least the pipes don’t freeze. Maybe get at least enough burners working so it can take some of the load off of you, Lewis.”

“YOU DON’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT, ARTIE, I GOT THIS UNDER CONTROL. HERE, THESE BLANKETS ARE READY AND I GOT THE HOT WATER BOTTLES TO WARM THE BEDS” Lewis urged, draping now heated blankets over his friends. He was about to go put the hot water bottles into beds when it happened. It wasn’t loud, but it was a noise that they had been dreading.

“Ah… ah… Ah-choo!” Vivi’s sneeze brought everyone to a halt. Lewis twisted round and Arthur gave her a pensive look. “What? It was just a sneeze!” Vivi exclaimed, “nothing to worry about!”

“THAT’S HOW IT STARTS, VI” Lewis retorted with concern, “HAVE YOU BEEN HAD A COUGH AT ALL? WERE YOU FEELING OKAY AT WORK?”

“I’m _fine!_ Honest!” Vivi moaned, rolling her eyes, “Jeez, it’s not going to be a pr- ah-CHOO!” another, louder sneeze cut Vivi off and she looked about sheepishly. “Okay, so maybe it’s not a one-off thing but I’ve been totally fine until just then!”

Lewis looked down at the hot water bottles in his hands and then to Arthur. “I SHOULD GET THESE INTO YOUR AND OUR BEDS, THEN I THINK I OUGHT TO GET SOME WATER HEATED. YOU OKAY TO KEEP AN EYE ON VIVI IN THE MEANTIME?”

Arthur was already getting up, adding his blanket to Vivi, “Already on it. We should have some stuff in the kitchen for this, better to get ahead of things now and at least the kettle still works.”

“Ugh, guys, I’ll be fine!” Vivi whined, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Lewis had already left the room and Arthur was half way to the kitchen.

“See this is what I was talking about, Vivi, one of us was bound to catch a cold sooner or later,” Arthur said consolingly, “so before you go for the not-that-ill spiel remember the kinda guy you’re talking to. If I’m telling you to take it easy then you know you should take it easy.” He walked back over to the couch and leaned against it, “you may feel fine now, but it’s not like Lewis wasn’t going to worry anyway. Just try and make the most of it.”

Vivi just grumbled by way of response, pulling the blankets in closer around her. “You know you’re gonna have to walk Mystery whilst I’m under house arrest” she sulked, “gonna have to take him out there in the cold and the wind and the snow, and clean up after him… Unless you try and change his mi-”

“Not a chance” Arthur cut Vivi off mid request, “I’ll be fine with Mystery, he practically exercises himself and the open space out back is plenty fine.”

Vivi gave a few grumbles and bundled herself in the blankets. “You owe me a pillowfort for this” she sulked.

“Anything that makes you stay put, Vi” Arthur smiled, “we can see about getting one made after dinner, have you and Lew camp out in the lounge tonight!”

Arthur took his leave to find some cold and flu meds in the kitchen, and after some rummaging he managed to find some in the back of the drinks cupboard. With the kettle heating up, he turned back to look at the boiler in the corner of the room. He knew that his friends had asked him to leave it be for a reason, but if Arthur could _just_ get a little bit more hot water out then it would make things so much easier for them. Didn’t need to be much, he had already stopped the pipes from freezing, just enough to keep it from getting too cold at night. Vivi would be fine keeping close to Lewis, and Mystery could easily stick with them or otherwise have some other trick to keep warm but Arthur couldn’t impose on his friends, that wouldn’t be fair. Not to mention, he had to think about Galaham. Lewis had heated a small washcloth to keep the little hamster warm, but that was only a temporary solution.

He snapped back to reality when he heard the kettle click off, remembering he had promised to keep an eye on Vivi whilst Lewis was busy trying to keep the bedrooms warm for tonight. Pouring water into the mug with the sachet of cold relief, Arthur stared out the window longingly as the snow began to pick up, the flurry of white flakes starting to pile up in the backyard. Vivi would have loved this weather, he thought, only now she’s going to be sulking the entire time. Still, at least building a pillowfort would keep her entertained for a while with any luck.

“I know you have a coffee already but this should help keep things from getting worse right away,” Arthur said as he carried the steaming mug back into the lounge, trying his best to sound cheery.

“I don’t even feel that bad!” Vivi protested, but she grabbed the mug anyway.

“Yeah well considering the amount of times you told me to take things easy when I said I was fine, I’m pretty sure I can get away with this one!” Arthur joked. He was enjoying the opportunity to turn the tables on his friend, but it did put into perspective how Vivi must have felt back in the days before they found Lewis.

“Fine, but you still owe me a pillowfort” Vivi grumbled, as she shuffled off the couch and onto the floor before changing the subject. “I was thinking we use a blanket as a roof, held up by the couch at the back” she began gesturing to mark out the boundaries of her desired fort.

“You’ll want to move the table out of the way, it’ll take up too much space in the fort” Arthur pointed out. “But I think my footstool from the garage could make do as a replacement for keeping drinks and snacks on, it’s short and small so it should be a good fit.”

Vivi gave Arthur a bright look with a sly grin. “See, this is why you’re the best for building these with! You always remember the little details!” she beamed.

Arthur grinned sheepishly. “Oh it’s no big deal. I do a lot of similar stuff when I’m working with Uncle Lance. Guess it comes with the territory” he shrugged, “but anyway, we should make a start before Lewis comes back down. If we get enough done then Lewis will surely cave to the pressure!”

Working quickly, Vivi took the seat cushions to start forming walls whilst Arthur took one of her blankets and drew them over the back of the couch and cushion-walls. Ever prepared, Vivi kept some fairy lights in the DVD unit by the TV that provided some soft illumination to the inside of the fort. Arthur kept to his word and brought some of his low stools from the garage to use as tables, he even brought in a bowl of mini pretzels from the kitchen to start the impromptu party. By the time Lewis drifted back downstairs, Vivi and Arthur had already set up camp in a bundle of blankets and pillows looted from the entire living room, and it was a sturdy construction as well.

“ALL RIGHT, VI, I’VE RAN A BATH FOR YOU” Lewis began only to stare dumbfounded at the extent of the edifice. “YOU SHOULD… GET TO IT… BEFORE…” he trailed off. “YOU TWO HAVE BEEN… BUSY” he muttered, poking his head into fort, “COMFORTABLE, ARE WE?”

Arthur started to look a bit sheepish. “Oh, ah, erm…” he stammered “I just thought that Vivi would be more comfortable like this.”

“And it’s gotta be easier for you to only heat the one floor instead of two” Vivi added brightly with a lot more confidence than Arthur. “This way, you just need to keep this room and Arthur’s room warm at night!”

This took Arthur by surprise, what Vivi just said had made him suddenly realise something. “Wait… Have you been sneaking into my room at night?” Arthur gasped.

Lewis and Vivi shared a look that said a silent “oops”, and Mystery who had been keeping a low profile couldn’t even stop an awkward cough as the question hovered in the air. Lewis dropped his shoulders and sighed. “I HAD BEEN DROPPING BY ONCE OR TWICE WHEN YOU WERE ASLEEP, JUST ENOUGH TO KEEP THE PLACE FROM GETTING TOO COLD” he confessed, “BUT I NEVER DID ANYTHING BUT STAND IN THE DOORWAY AND JUST FOCUS. A-AND I NEVER LOOKED AROUND OR ANYTHING!” Lewis added with a hasty embarrassment.

“It, ah, was only to keep you from catching a chill” Mystery claimed, hoping to smooth over the tension.

“ALSO I KNOCKED IN CASE YOU WERE AWAKE OR ANYTHING” continued Lewis.

Arthur grimaced as he glanced between Lewis and Mystery. “I-it’s fine, I’m just kinda surprised is all” he said, “but, erm, thanks? But I could just get one of the electric heaters we use at the shop from Uncle Lance…”

“I-it was my idea” Vivi blurted out. It wasn’t strictly a lie, Lewis was trying to think of a way to stop Arthur’s room from getting too cold at night anyway but it was her who gave him the idea of doing it directly. “I said he should do it, I was going to tell you but uh… I must have forgotten because of the cold.” The excuse seemed to hold, but the quiet suggested that it was more because the group wanted to believe it.

“YEAH, JUST A MIX UP IS ALL” Lewis babbled before changing the subject, “BUT ANYWAY! VIVI, I’VE GONE AND RAN A BATH FOR YOU. BEST GET TO IT BEFORE THE WATER GETS COLD. ARTHUR AND I CAN FINISH UP HERE.”

Vivi gave a quick glance to Arthur, worried that maybe he’d be a bit anxious after suddenly finding that Lewis had been sneaking into his room at night but he seemed to be taking it in stride going by his smile. Well surely they’ll talk about it if it’s a problem, Vivi thought, Arthur and Lewis had both come a long way and started to talk compared to how they had been when they first found Lewis and brought him back to Tempo. “Fair enough, don’t think I’d have much of a say in it anyway!” she joked as she scrabbled out of the makeshift den.

After Vivi made her way upstairs, Lewis sat down outside the cave of blankets. “I, UH, PROBABLY SHOULD TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THAT. SORRY, I WAS HOPING VIVI HAD TOLD YOU AND I FELT KINDA EMBARRASSED ABOUT IT” Lewis mumbled. He was awkwardly fidgeting with one of the throw pillows that hadn’t yet been incorporated into the fort.

“That… probably would have been better but I get why you did” Arthur replied, “W-why you were warming my room, I mean.”

Mystery watched the uncomfortable silence drag on as Lewis and Arthur continued to put the pillowfort together. Occasionally Arthur might ask for Lewis to pass him one of the larger pillows to shore up the back, or Lewis would ask for advice on furnishing the inside of the fort to make it comfortable. It wasn’t that they didn’t _want_ to talk in general, but it was clear they were trying to avoid talking about something.

“YOU, UH, FEELING OKAY? NOT UNDER THE WEATHER OR ANYTHING?” Lewis ventured tentatively, “IN CASE YOU CAUGHT SOMETHING FROM VI, YOU’VE BEEN IN A CLOSE SPACE WITH HER ALL DAY AND… YOU HAVE A HABIT OF NOT TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF…” 

“I’m fine! I’m fine, honest!” Arthur rambled, “I’m a lot tougher than you think, not gonna fall ill easily. I know you’re just looking out for me but you don’t need to worry!”

Lewis was still worried, and even Mystery had doubts that Arthur’s constitution was as fool-proof as he thought. They would both concede that the mechanic was resilient, he had taken all sorts of colds and flus in his stride when other people would have been laid up in bed. “Just so long as you keep an eye on your wellbeing” Mystery said, hoping that he could settle the matter before things got too awkward, “one cannot be too careful, after all!”

This seemed to reach an accord, Arthur smiled and nodded as he considered the matter put to rest and Lewis appeared to agree. Arthur leaned back to admire his handiwork with a contented sigh, “Y’know, pretty sure this is some my best work! You should see it from the inside, there’s plenty of room!” he beckoned towards Lewis and Mystery.

The inside of the pillowfort was deceptively spacious, even Lewis’ broad shoulders were hardly closed in by the structure. Arthur was lounging with his back to the base of the couch with arms spread wide across it like he was surveying his kingdom, at least until Vivi came back and took over. The opening to the fort lined up perfectly with the TV, creating a cosy cinema effect that was bolstered by the strings of fairy lights that ran across the roof-blanket and between the walls formed of the couch’s seat cushions.

“VIVI’S GONNA LOVE IT, IT’LL BE EASIER TO KEEP AN EYE ON HER WITH THIS BUILT” agreed Lewis as he squeezed in between the myriad cushions whilst Mystery padded in behind him.

“At any rate she won’t complain as much” hummed Mystery, looking around the interior for the best place to claim “it is rather comfortable in here, after all.”

“Yeah but don’t get too comfortable, Mystery, you still need to be taken for a walk and I’m wanting to swing by my Uncle’s place to borrow one of the mini-heaters from the garage” Arthur sighed, “I just want to wait for Vivi to get a look in before we head out.”

Mystery looked out of the cozy confines of the pillowfort and over to the window, it was still pouring with snow outside. “Do you seriously expect me to go outside in this weather?” he grumbled, settling down on the floor in lieu of a more comfortable perch.

“Do you expect Lewis or Vivi to let me go outside alone or even drive in this weather?” Arthur retorted with a slight grin and Mystery was forced to concede the point, albeit with a huff.

“BUT ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AT ALL?” Lewis asked concernedly, “I’M SURE MYSTERY WILL BE FINE TO JUST STAY IN TODAY AND WE’LL BE OKAY WITHOUT THE EXTRA HEATER FOR A FEW DAYS AT LEAST”

“I’ll be fine, Lew, and it’s better to get the extra heater soon just in case” Arthur replied, “This way you can focus on Vivi without having to worry about Galaham and I. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to wrap up warm.”

“I shall make sure he stays safe,” Mystery sighed, “somebody will need to and neither you nor Vivi are in any position to do so.” Despite his apparent annoyance and having to go outside, a slight smile was forming at the corner of his mouth.

The matter settled, more by Arthur’s determination than anything else, the trio sat back to await Vivi’s return and approval of the pillowfort. When she did come back, having claimed the large, heavy duvet from her bed, her eyes grew wide. “Guys! This is amazing!” Vivi gasped, shuffling her way in to the back of the fort and made herself comfortable, “I love what you’ve done with the place! It’s so roomy in here!”

The fort was indeed quite spacious, though with the entire gang inside it was starting to feel crowded at least with regard to the amount of floor space that was available. All things considered, Arthur decided now was the best time to leave. “I’m glad you like it!” he beamed proudly, “I’ll leave you and Lew to get comfy and settled. I need to swing by Uncle Lance’s place to pick something up so I’ll be out for a while.”

Vivi was surprised. “Are you sure?” she asked, “The weather is terrible and whatever you need I’m sure it can wait!” But Arthur was already crawling his way out of the fort.

“I ALREADY TRIED TO GET HIM TO STAY IN BUT HE WAS INSISTANT” Lewis sighed, “AND YOU KNOW HOW DETERMINED ARTHUR CAN BE.”

“I’ll be fine!” Arthur insisted, “I’ll have Mystery with me as well!” which provoked a grumbling Mystery to leave the comfort of the fort as well, “We won’t be outside too long and I’m sure Uncle Lance will insist on us staying for something warm anyway.” Arthur had already put on his bright orange jumper and matching scarf, a heavy coat folded over his arm as he collected his gloves and Mystery’s leash from by the front door.

Mystery stretched out and shook his legs. “You can count on me to keep him safe,” he promised “But let’s be done with it anyway. I want to get comfortable before Vivi claims all the good spots…”

“Then you better be quick, hadn’t you!” Vivi joked, poking her tongue out and prompting a like response from Mystery as Arthur clipped the leash to his collar and led him out into to the cold.

When the front door had closed, and the cold wind it let in had subsided, Vivi turned to Lewis with a somewhat worried look. “Is it just me or was he a bit eager to get out of the house just now” she murmured, “Did something happen when I was upstairs?”

“NO, WE JUST… KINDA TALKED ABOUT ME WARMING HIS ROOM AT NIGHT. HE SAID HE WAS FINE WITH IT… BUT THIS IS ARTHUR, SO I GUESS HE JUST WANTED TO NOT CAUSE A FUSS.”

Vivi grimaced slightly. “I hope it’s just the surprise that’s doing this…”

“I’M SURE HE JUST WANTS TO GET ON WITH THINGS, NOTHING ELSE TO IT” Lewis replied, but he didn’t do a good job of hiding his own worry.

It was almost two hours later and starting to get dark outside when Arthur returned with Mystery, the latter losing no time in sprinting inside with angry mutterings and his leash trailing behind him. “Make some room!” the small dog barked as he made a mad scramble towards the fort, “My paws are numb and my tail is frozen, so let me in this instant!”

Arthur had barely got through the door himself before Lewis was upon him. “YOU GET WHAT YOU WERE AFTER, I TAKE IT?” he asked, taking the cardboard box from Arthur so the mechanic could take his coat off, “NOT FEELING TOO ROUGH AFTER THE WALK?”

“Y-y-yeah I-I’ll be f-f-fine” Arthur stammered, teeth chattering from the bitter cold, “J-j-just need to warm up, w-was pretty w-w-windy outside.”

“Pretty windy is putting it pretty lightly!” Mystery snapped from within the pillowfort having buried himself under a small trove of pillows, “How can you say such a thing after having put me through such hardship?!”

Vivi, giggling, started to fish around in the assorted heaps to find Mystery. “Oh come on, it can’t have been that bad!” she laughed as she finally grasped her dog and managed to unclip the leash in spite of Mystery’s protests.

“Ack! Unhand me, Vivi!” he whined, “Your hands are as freezing as the weather! How can they be so cold after being in the warmth all day?”

Finally getting the last of his outside clothes, Arthur took the box back off of Lewis and gestured down the hallway to his room. “Th-thanks, I’ll ju-just get this set up and I’ll be back in a sec to warm up” he said before quickly shuffling off before Lewis could object. Arthur gently shut the door behind him, put the box on his desk and cupped his nose. The sneeze he had been trying to stop showed no signs of going away and Arthur knew that if he got caught showing signs of illness then he wouldn’t hear the end of it.

He paused for a moment that seemed to drag out waiting for the sneeze to either happen or fade away. Going by the lack of a shake in his mechanical arm, and the fact that the hairs on the back of his neck weren’t standing on end Arthur felt safe that Lewis wasn’t outside his door. Slowly, he brought his hands down and started to get the heater set up in the corner of his room. It was a small electric radiator, not exactly the sort to keep his room really warm during the day but it would do the job at night when Arthur was, in theory, going to be under the covers anyway. At any rate, Galaham in his cage would appreciate the warmer nights.

“There,” Arthur said, “that should stop you catching a chill until we get the boiler sorted, little buddy!” As he clicked the heater on Galaham happily began chattering away in his cage, appreciating the new heater. “I’ll leave it on for a little bit just to warm you up. Gonna see if Lewis has another clean and warm dishcloth for you as well, would you like that?” he cooed poking a finger through the bars of the cage to pet Galaham, the hamster greatly enjoying the attention.

Heading back to the lounge Arthur could hear the sounds of Lewis hard work in the kitchen, no doubt getting some hot food ready. Vivi was blaring the TV at full volume, not watching anything in particular but hopping between channels. Arthur was about to call out to her before he felt the same tickle in his nose as a sneeze began brewing again, much quicker than before. Arthur’s hands flew to his face and covered his nose tightly and managed to muffle the sneeze to almost nothing. Quickly looking towards the kitchen doorway, Arthur paused as he hoped that Lewis wasn’t about to come flying in with strict orders of bedrest but thankfully he seemed to have gotten away with it. At least he thought as much before he noticed a pair of maliciously gleaming blue eyes watching him intently from between the cracks of the pillow fort.

“Oh no…” Arthur whispered. He already knew it was too late, there was no way that Vivi would pass up a chance to get back at him for taking Lewis’ side earlier let alone an opportunity to subject Arthur to some enforced care.

“Oh yes…” Vivi whispered back insidiously. Arthur could hear the grinning in her voice. “Oh Lew!” she called out in a voice that was half sing-song and half feigning weakness, “could you come here a second!”

Arthur was making frantic gestures, shaking his head and waving his arms in the vain hope to get Vivi to stop but it was too late; Lewis was already drifting into the room. “YES, VI? ARE YOU FEELING OKAY?”

“Oh I’m well enough” Vivi sighed, a touch too emphatically perhaps, “but don’t you think Arthur’s looking a bit pale...?”

The wraith drifted over with as concerned expression and gently grasped the mechanic by the shoulders, though the grip was almost inescapable. “YOU _DO_ SEEM A LITTLE OFF, ARTIE. ARE YOU SURE YOU’RE FEELING OKAY?”

“Y-yeah yep” stammered Arthur. He was hoping that he could avoid being scrutinised long enough to come up with some plan or excuse, but unfortunately the world had other ideas. “I was just going to ask if you had a-” A sense of dread started to build.

“-Aaahh-” He already knew there was no way of avoiding what was about to happen.

“-Aaah- _chpfffn_!” There was no hiding the sneeze, but instinct still compelled Arthur to try. He could only look sheepishly from behind his hands at the towering form of Lewis. “Err… I meant to ask if you had a warm towel… for Galaham…” he laughed nervously, “and maybe something for the, er, the dust?”

Lewis folded his arms with a pensive expression. “ARTHUR, I THINK YOU HAD BETTER STAY RESTING FOR NOW” implored the wraith, in a tone of voice that was clearly not accepting any alternatives as he ushered Arthur towards the pillowfort. “I’LL BRING GALAHAM IN HERE WITH US IF IT WILL STOP YOU WORRYING BUT YOU REALLY SHOULD TAKE IT EASY. YOU HAVE A BAD ENOUGH HABIT OF NOT TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF AS IT IS”

Before he could even start to protest Arthur was being pushed into the fort where Vivi was waiting with her arms wide and a blanket held between them. “Oh don’t worry, I’ll make sure he stays put” she snickered as Arthur found himself manhandled into her grasp and entangled in the waiting blankets before being dragged towards the back of the fort like Vivi’s prisoner.

Mystery was smugly perched on the sofa at the back of the fort, relishing the show as a swaddled Arthur was now trapped amongst the pillows. “My word,” Mystery remarked dryly, “I guess that all that time spent out in the snow can’t have been worth it after all!”

Arthur shot the dog a poisonous look, but the effect was ruined by his brightly coloured and fuzzy prison. “Did you tip her off? Set her up to this or something?” he hissed, but Mystery just shook his head.

“Oh hardly,” he chuckled, “She’s been wanting to get you back since this morning. Trust me, I know how she thinks. I just helped nudge things along.”

“And so you’re stuck here until you start taking care of yourself” Vivi added as she wrapped her arms around Arthur “really, you should know I can read you like a book these days.”

Trapped, Arthur could only lean back with a resigned sigh. “You aren’t letting me out of here, are you?”

“Not in the slightest” was Vivi’s self-satisfied reply, “You are gonna stay put, and there’s no two ways about it! Besides Lew is making finger-food, we’re gonna camp out in the fort for a few nights!”

“Are you at least gonna set my arms free for dinner, or are you going to insist on feeding me yourself” Arthur snapped, before immediately regretting it.

“Don’t you know better than to give her ideas, Kingsmen?” hummed Mystery, voice still dripping with sarcasm, “or are you trying to goad her in the hopes of preferential treatment, hmm?”

Arthur’s groans were interrupted when Lewis, arms full of cables and holding Galaham’s cage, drifted into view of the fort’s opening. “I, UH, THINK I GOT EVERYTHING. I TURNED YOUR HEATER OFF, I’VE GOT GALAHAM AND YOUR ARM’S CHARGER JUST IN CASE…” Lewis rambled before trailing off when he saw the state Arthur was in. “IS, UH, IS EVERYTHING OKAY?”

“Yep, just keeping Arthur under wraps so he doesn’t overdo himself” Vivi beamed.

“Indeed, you can consider him thoroughly cared for!” Mystery agreed slyly, “Nothing to worry about, you can focus on putting dinner together.”

Arthur turned his most worried, most pleading look on Lewis. “Help me, they’re holding me prisoner and keeping me under duress!” he moaned, but Lewis just pensively backed away.

“I’LL, ERM, I’LL JUST GET ON WITH DINNER SHALL I? IT WON’T BE LONG, JUST… YOU JUST… SIT TIGHT UNTIL THEN…” the ghost mumbled trying to make excuses and quickly drifting out to the kitchen before anyone could say anything more.

“Well it isn’t like I can do anything else, is it?!” Arthur snapped at the retreating spectre before heaving a despondent sigh.

Vivi pulled the trapped Arthur into a hug, cradling his head. “Oh relax, we’ll let your arms out after dinner, honest!” she cooed before taking a more genuine tone, “Look, Arthur, we’d all much prefer it if the boiler wasn’t broken but until things are back to normal we need to take extra care and you have some bad habits when it comes to taking care of yourself at the best of times.” Arthur didn’t reply, but Vivi could still feel the slight warmth as he started to blush in her arms and it was all she could do to avoid smirking. “Besides, it’s nice to be able to just cuddle here like this!” she added brightly before thinking _bingo_ as Arthur started to shift to a bright, bashful red.

Arthur twisted awkwardly in Vivi’s arms and she loosened her grip enough to give him some movement. “Well, I mean yeah… i-it’s nice…” Arthur murmured as he tried to avoid eye contact with his two captors though neither Vivi nor Mystery pushed him further.

“Just so long as you understand that we’re only wanting to look out for you,” Vivi said as she started to release Arthur from the blanket bindings, “And to warn you, Lew is probably going to insist on you bunking in here with of us until we can get the heating sorted. And I agree, it’ll stop us worrying about you all the time and it’ll be better at keeping you warm than that tiny little heater will.”

All at once the colour drained from Arthur’s face. “All… in here? With you? Inside the fort?” he stammered, “As in, all together? Err, a-are you sure? I- I- I mean won’t that be a bit cramped? O-or something?”

“Is something the matter, Artie?” Vivi asked worriedly, she had expected Arthur not to be excited about the idea but that didn’t stop her from feeling bad. Vivi had known that Arthur could be pretty reserved, even shy, and would frequently excuse himself whenever the three of them were doing something together.

“N-n-no, no, I was, just, uh, I just thought that you two would pref-” Arthur babbled before being interrupted by Mystery jumping down from his perch on the couch to Arthur’s lap.

“We all would prefer it if you did not take it upon yourself to repair the unrepairable nor isolate yourself for fear of imposing on your friends, Lewis and Vivi especially” Mystery stated levelly, as a parent would to a child, “I believe that settles the matter, and just in time to as judging by the smell of things Lewis is about finished with preparing dinner!”

Sure enough Lewis was swift to show up with several platters of steaming nibbles, his days of table service paying off as he set a trio of plates without so much as a wobble. “WE’VE GOT SPRING ROLLS, JALAPEÑO POPPERS, POPCORN CHICKEN, BATTERED PRAWNS, AND STUFFED OLIVES” Lewis began before Vivi dove straight past to the plates, followed swiftly by Mystery.

“We’ve got food!” Vivi declared as she snatched up handfuls from the plates to Lewis’ dismay.

“SLOW DOWN! LEAVE SOME FOR ARTHUR, AND I HAVEN’T EVEN BROUGHT THE DIPS THROUGH!” he moaned, but Vivi and Mystery weren’t dissuaded. “YOU BETTER GET IN QUICK BEFORE THEY EAT THE LOT, ARTIE” Lewis sighed as he backed out of the fort to finish getting the food in. By the time he drifted back with a selection of sauces Arthur had finally managed a chance at the food grabbing the first thing he could reach without looking.

Vivi paused mid-bite and shot a quick glance at Arthur, matched by a surprised Lewis. Arthur’s gaze flickered between the other two with slight worry as he brought the morsel to his mouth. “I-is something the matter?” he asked, slowly taking a bite.

“Oh yeah, it’s fine…” Vivi bluffed, not taking her eyes off of Arthur as he chewed.

“WE JUST DIDN’T THINK YOU LIKED SPICY FOOD IS ALL, SO YOU HAVING THE JALAPEÑO WAS A SURPRISE” Lewis mumbled as a grimace of realisation crossed Arthur’s face.

“Ack, yep, I’m fine” Arthur coughed as he began to tear up from the heat, “I’m good with spicy food. I just don’t like it when your sisters spike my drinks with the really spicy stuff is all!” In an attempt to save face Arthur went for a second jalapeño popper, and after hesitating a little when offered the tray of dip by Lewis, he chowed down on the pepper. It wasn’t actually that bad now that he was expecting the spiciness, and Arthur thought that maybe it would be worth asking Lewis to make something a little hotter in future. “See? I’m fine!” he declared with a grin, the effect was spoiled by his watering eyes,

“Well aren’t you full of surprises, Artie!” Vivi giggled.

“YOU DON’T NEED TO TRY AND IMPRESS US, ARTIE,” Lewis said kindly, “WE ALREADY THINK YOU’RE PRETTY COOL!”

“But if you are considering a challenge, I am certain we have a bottle of something insidious in the back of the cupboards still” teased Mystery.

Arthur shuddered at the thought of what ingredients might have been lurking in the kitchen that Lewis had been keeping, sauces hotter than anything he had endured at the hands of the Pepper Sisters. “I… think I’ll be fine for now” he stammered as he reached for something distinctly less spicy from the platters, “Also just because I _can_ eat the spicy ones, Vi, doesn’t mean you get to eat all the rest!”

“Then you better get in quick hadn’t you?” Vivi joked as she snatched up another handful of snacks, but leaving most of the prawns for Arthur.

It was a good dinner in the cosy confines of the pillowfort, illuminated by the strings of fairy lights and the glow of the TV. After the plates were emptied and cleared away Lewis brought Arthur and Vivi a hot chocolate each, tiny marshmallows in a swirling multicolour dance on the top; blue for Vivi and yellow for Arthur. With the steaming mugs in hand, Lewis sat himself down in the front of the pillowfort. “MADE ON THE STOVE, WITH PROPER CHOCOLATE” he began, somewhat awkwardly before sighing, “SO… ABOUT TONIGHT, ARTHUR…”

“Vivi’s already told me. You want me to bunk in here until the boiler’s fixed…” Arthur interrupted quietly, “I… I don’t mind, I can just shimmy up to one side so I’m not in the way.”

“No, no it’s okay Artie you don’t need to!” Vivi interjected, “You can stay close to us, it’s not a problem!”

“BEST WAY TO KEEP YOU WARM, ARTHUR” Lewis added, nodding, “IT ISN’T CRAMPED IN HERE ANYWAY.”

Arthur looked around the inside of the fort, there was no denying that the fort was spacious enough for them all to lie down but that didn’t stop him from worrying, he didn’t want to impose on his friends or their relationship. Considering his options he could either argue with his friends about this or he could relent, and fake rolling over in his sleep to create some space between him and them. Discretion, Arthur decided, was the better part of valour. “I guess you’ve got a point” he murmured, “you, er, going to go in the middle right Lewis?”

“I SUPPOSE SO?” Lewis replied, somewhat perplexed, “I DON’T SEE WHY NOT”

Vivi just nodded an agreement. “Sounds like a plan. That way we both get to be close to him, like a giant huggable hot water bottle!” she smiled, relishing the mischief as Lewis looked a little embarrassed while Arthur gave an abashed squirm and an awkward chuckle.

“Right, well, if that’s everything it’s getting pretty late so, erm, I think maybe we should turn in?” Arthur mumbled, looking for excuses and already shuffling towards the opening of the fort. “So I’ll just go brush my teeth and all that, back shortly!” he continued, scurrying out towards the hallway.

After cleaning his teeth, washing his face and getting changed for the night, Arthur figured it would be best to pick up some more pillows from his room. This way he could set up a sort of buffer if he needed to, and have spares in case Vivi got greedy. He eventually trudged back into the lounge with two pillows and his comforter, crawling back into the fort he found that Vivi was already nestled in the crook of Lewis’ arm with her head resting against his shoulder. She opened an eye and smiled as Lewis pulled the comforter out of Arthur’s hands and began to warm it.

“You took your time, everything okay?” Vivi asked sleepily.

“Oh, um, yeah, I just figured I’d get some extra pillows and that so I don’t have to share with you” Arthur joked as he set himself down on the other side of Lewis, taking care to make sure he had some space. “You should know by now I’m a restless sleeper so if I shuffle off to one side or flail about, I can’t help it so consider yourself warned!”

Lewis simply nodded as he passed the warmed comforter back to Arthur, “YEAH, WE KNOW. DON’T YOU WORRY ABOUT IT.”

“’S why I have this big warm lump in the way” Vivi yawned as she wrapped her arms tightly around Lewis’ waist, “cos ‘e gonna get in th’ way of your flappy arms…”

“IS THAT MEANT TO BE A COMPLIMENT?” Lewis quipped as he pulled Vivi in for a hug, “YOU SURE YOU’LL BE OKAY, ARTHUR? IF YOU WANT A GLASS OF WATER JUST LET ME KNOW AND I CAN SEND A DEADBEAT FOR ONE.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine, but thanks!” answered Arthur quietly. He placed his head on his pillows and in the dim light of the pillowfort he found that sleep came easily than usual. Maybe he was more tired than he cared to admit, or maybe it was the gentle warmth but as soon as he closed his eyes he felt himself drifting into slumber almost immediately.

Arthur had no idea how long he was asleep, but it was still dark when he started to stir. He was still feeling groggy but comfortably warm, so much so that he was almost immediately drifting back to sleep in spite of the waking. There was a source of heat close by him - he was sure of it - a cosy, familiar warmth that spoke to him of a restful peace. Arthur wrapped his arms around the warmth and tried to pull it closer as he began to fall asleep again, but really just pulled himself closer to the warmth instead. Then he remembered, and his eyes snapped open in the darkness. “Oh… shh-”

Lewis was staring fixedly ahead with a tense expression, doing his best to not acknowledge the fact that Arthur’s arms were fastened tightly around his waist but it didn’t help that Lewis had one arm wrapped around Arthur in return. His mouth open and closing soundlessly, Arthur tried to excuse himself but couldn’t find the words. Lewis, still looking straight forwards, tried to fill the silence. “ARE YOU OKAY? DO YOU WANT A DRINK?”

Immediately Arthur began to shimmy away, whispering excuses; “Oh, shh- Lew- I mean Lewis, I’m so sorry, I didn-”

“HEY, HEY, IT’S… IT’S OKAY” Lewis interrupted, “IT’S… KINDA NICE, ACTUALLY…” Despite Lewis’ skull visage, Arthur could almost detect the hint of a blush though he was oblivious to his own reddening.

“Sorry, I can, erm, I can- wait, what do you mean by nice?” Arthur gasped, the last part had caught him entirely off-guard.

The wraith shuffled uncomfortably, doing his best to not disturb neither Vivi on his other side nor Mystery perched upon the couch. “I JUST MEANT THAT… WELL, THINGS AREN’T QUITE…” Lewis continued to fumble his words, “THE THING IS, BETWEEN THE TWO OF US…”

“Oh for the love of!” A sudden shout came from the other side of Lewis. “This is like watching two people trying to pass on a narrow street!” Vivi snapped, she lunged over Lewis’ chest to grab Arthur, and swiftly hauled the stunned mechanic over to rest between herself and Lewis. “Right,” she declared, “I’ve had just about enough of this song-and-dance! You two know I can read you like open books, right?” Both Lewis and Arthur were stunned into silence, both had assumed that Vivi was still asleep and going by the poorly stifled laughter from behind them Mystery was awake as well.

Now caught between Lewis and Vivi, Arthur struggled to think of an excuse. “I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, Vi! You, uh, you don’t either right Lew, er, Lewis?” Arthur stammered as he craned his neck to try and look towards Lewis but the ghost didn’t meet his gaze, and a sense of apprehension began to build in the back of Arthur’s mind, “Um, r-right, Lewis?”

Vivi gently cupped Arthur’s chin in her hands and turned him to face her. “Look, Arthur, it’s okay. You don’t need to worry, Lew and I know how you feel” she whispered softly.

Blushing fiercely, Arthur continued to stammer out his denials. “I don- I’m not sur- I have no ide-” Arthur gulped, his mouth twitching back and forth between a nervousness, bashfulness and a faint dreading.

“Well then maybe if I put it like this!” Vivi smiled as she leaned in close leaving Arthur no time to react before Vivi place a soft and tender kiss upon his cheek. There was a brief pause as the mechanic was caught up in his wide-eyed bewilderment before two large hands rolled him round to face the other way and nervousness gripped him again.

“W-wait, Lew- I mean Lewis- I didn’t know that Vivi was going to do that!” Arthur babbled, trying to wriggle away from the looming ghost to no avail. Lewis reached down and tapped his skull to Arthur’s forehead, emanating a gentle warmth.

“YOU’RE OVERTHINKING THINGS, ARTHUR” Lewis said in hushed tones, brushing his fingers through the mechanic’s hair, “IT’S KINDA CUTE, BUT YOU SHOULD KNOW VI AND I TALKED ABOUT THINGS”

“When you went to pick up your heater from your uncle, Lewis and I decided we should talk about, y’know, _us_ ” Vivi explained, “And we pretty much came to the same conclusion.” She took Arthur’s hands in her own, “We’ve both felt the same for a long while. You’re a wonderful person, Arthur, and we’ve both seen how you look at us when you think we won’t notice.”

“YOU’RE MORE THAN JUST OUR ARTHUR”

“You’re _our_ Arthur, and we’d love it if you would join us. Properly, I mean” Vivi continued. She cupped Arthur’s face in her hands, “You don’t have to if you don’t but we both just want to you to know that… we’re open to you.”

Arthur, slowly, moved his hand to Vivi’s and clasped it before squeezing tightly. “But, but aren’t you and Lewis already-” Arthur whispered hoarsely but Lewis cut him off with a gentle hug around his waist.

“WE KNOW WHAT MAKES US HAPPY, AND WE DON’T WANT TO LET TRADITION STOP US” Lewis consoled in hushed tones, “LIKE VI SAID, IF YOU AREN’T COMFORTABLE THEN IT’S OKAY AND WE DON’T WANT TO PRESSURE YOU. IT’S JUST THAT WE THOUGHT IT WAS BEST THAT YOU KNEW HOW WE FELT.”

“I… I don’t know what to say…” Arthur started, his eyes beginning to become watery, “I was afraid I would only have made things worse but I didn’t want to be away from you.” There was a single, brief pause that seemed to stretch out endlessly, Arthur wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not. His doubts were immediately dispelled when the other two swiftly drew themselves in for a swift and sudden hug, Vivi brought herself in close to Arthur and then Lewis wrapping his arms around them and pulled the pair in towards his chest.

“YOU COULD SAY YES?” the ghost ventured hopefully.

“You could say yes” Vivi whispered in agreement.

A tired laugh began to build in Arthur. “Well of course I’m going to say yes!” he grinned, “I could never say anything else!” Arthur wriggled around as much as he could to try and get one arm around each of Lewis and Vivi. “To be with the two of you, to be with both of you would be the best thing that could ever happen to me” Arthur beamed.

“BEST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU SO FAR” Lewis corrected, taking an opportunity to grasp blankets that were scattered about during the tossing of Arthur and throw them over them all. “WE’VE GOT WHO KNOWS WHAT AHEAD OF US TO LOOK FORWARD TO.”

“Of course this does mean you won’t be able to stay up way too late at night anymore,” Vivi smirked, “You’re really stuck with us now! No getting away!”

“Let’s be honest, Lewis was basically a week or so away from checking in on me late at night anyway!” Arthur joked, “Sooner or later you’d have just hauled me off to bed if I was working too late!”

“YEAH, PROBABLY” Lewis conceded, “OH SPEAKING OF WHICH, THE TWO OF YOU ARE STILL ON BEDREST UNTIL I’M HAPPY THAT YOU’RE BOTH BETTER!”

There was a disgruntled noise from Vivi, but it was clearly a joke; “Ugh what are you gonna do, make us hot cocoa and little cakes whilst you keep us trapped in this place?!”

“I’m quite certain that is his plan” Mystery mused smugly from his perch on the couch. He had watched the unfolding confessions with a quiet amusement, his three humans had got themselves so worked up over so long and all because of a busted piece of machinery they found themselves bearing the hearts to one-another. It was endearing, in a way, how they were all so afraid of making things difficult between them, how much they tried to be careful only to just spill it all the moment things started to go wrong. They could be so strange, but at the same time they all cared so deeply about each other and their feelings were true. He had to give humans credit; there was a great depth to them and their short lives drove them to love with all their heart. In spite of the past few days of trouble, things all seemed to work out for the best; the boiler would be replaced in a few days or so, and now Arthur, Lewis and Vivi could be happy together. All’s well that ends well Mystery thought to himself with a smile as the excitement began to settle down and calm sleep returned. All’s well that did indeed end well.


End file.
